Family has to give up cat after seven years due to stress, luckily the feline's previous foster family welcomes her back with a surprise kittenhood reunion

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Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Sep 29, 2025 11:00 AM EDT

Cats are resilient creatures. And yet, they're also extremely sensitive to changes in their environment. Some cats welcome additions to the household, guests, and even other animals. Others, on the other hand, need quiet, calm, and stability. Even something as silly as rearranging your furniture without the cat's purrmission can send them into a tizzy for a few days (honestly, why would you do anything without their approval first?). The good news is that it's very easy to see when a cat is uncomfortable, if you know the signs: the classic (and adorable) airplane ears, hiding frequently, eating and drinking less, behavioral problems such as marking territory or not using the litter box, etc.

Nobody likes to see someone they love go through a difficult period, and after adding some small children to their growing family, this feline's family could clearly see that their cat was not adjusting well to the new hooman children in their house. So, they made the difficult decision to rehome their cat after 7 years. Luckily, the kitty's previous foster family agreed to adopt her back, and they even have a surprise reunion in store for her… they kept one of her brothers from the same litter! It will be a fuzzy family reunion fur sure. Read the whole story below!

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  • 01

    Foster cat being returned after 7 years

    Orange cat and brown cat cuddling including 'I'm hopeful he might remember his old home-or even his brother'
    via Syda Productions

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    We fostered a litter of kittens years ago for a local rescue, and one of them was adopted into a loving home. I try to keep in touch with adopters if they're open to it, but I also respect their space. The adopter and I exchanged updates for the first couple of years, then communication faded.
    via Diligent-Equal-4115
  • 03
    Fast forward seven years, I recently received a message that their cat has been very stressed with the addition of small children in the home. He spends most of his time sitting in his litter box. He has been fully vetted and is healthy, but clearly unhappy. My husband and I have agreed to welcome him back.
    via Diligent-Equal-4115
  • 04
    Orange cat next to young blonde boy
    via FamVeld

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 05
    We still have one of his brothers that he used to play with as a kitten, along with a few other cats. I know the move will be stressful for him, but I'm hopeful he might remember his old home-or even his brother.
    via Diligent-Equal-4115

  • Not even siblings get along 100% of the time. Chances are it won't be some magical Disney-style reunion where they immediately start cuddling and bathing each other. But, it's pretty hard to furget your sibling, and they'll probably get along after a few days of figuring things out.

  • 06
    Has anyone else had experience reuniting littermates or bringing back an adult cat to their foster home after so many years? Did they remember? I'd love to hear your stories.
    via Diligent-Equal-4115
  • 07
    pennynotforthoughts I just want to say that you and your husband are so wonderful for taking him back. I don't have experience with this sort of situation but I wish you all the best.
    via pennynotforthoughts
  • 08
    Blowingl... I've reunited adult siblings that were strays with each other and with a mother cat. No recognition or happiness whatsoever, but they eventually did get along. I suspect happy reunions are more of a dog thing. Good of you to
    via Blowingleaves17
  • 09
    take the cat back. I took two back one year after their wild teenage antics started getting on the adopters' nerves. Plus, Christmas was coming, and I can only imagine what they would have
    via Blowingleaves17
  • 10
    done to a Christmas tree! No regrets whatsoever on getting them back... especially since they had the two brothers neutered and they came back as sweet as they were when they left.
    via Blowingleaves17
  • 11
    Two cats showing affection
    via MNstudio

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 12
    wandering_denna Not a foster situation, but I had two adult cats that were from the same litter and were part of the same feral cat colony (which amusingly turned into an indoor feral cat colony, but that's another story) for two years -
    via wandering_denna
  • 13
    then my ex-wife took one of the cats (Steve) to live with her. Three years after my ex took Steve in, we moved Hannah in with us. Hannah had territory issues, which is why my ex's mom wanted to rehome her, and we all thought being in a house
    via wandering_denna

  • Territory issues will be the biggest issue this family will face, probably. Not to mention, we all know how cats are with change. Moving into a new home, even if it's one you lived in before, can be stressful. It's not like coming back home to your bed after a vacation. To her, it will feel like a new home altogether. 

  • 14
    with one other cat would be better for her than being in a house with five other cats. I'm not sure if they remembered each other, but Hannah definitely wanted nothing to do with Steve. (Poor Steve was bummed out about it, he wanted a buddy.)
    via wandering_denna
  • 15
    It took Hannah three years to get to the point where she'd let Steve sit on the bed with her without hissing at him, and another two years before the two of them would snuggle and nap together. Sadly, when my ex passed away,
    via wandering_denna
  • 16
    Steve and Hannah were separated for a couple of weeks after living together for 6 years - when they were reunited, Steve went right up to her and sniffed her like nothing had changed, but Hannah flipped out on him,
    via wandering_denna
  • 17
    swiped at him, then hid under the bed and growled at him. (Steve was actually pretty depr sed about Hannah's reaction, he hid in my closet for the rest of the day - even after I pried Hannah out from under my bed and put her back in her room.)
    via wandering_denna
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    So, I guess all that is to say I think it'll depend on the cat. If either cat has territory issues, it might be a bumpy reintroduction, but it's possible the cats might remember each other. I'll keep my fingers crossed that things go smoothly for y'all!
    via wandering_denna
  • 19
    DarkHorseAsh111 You definitely Can introduce cats who are adults. they're not going to recognize each other but like, random cats who have never met can end up getting along fine. It ks that they have to return S him but it sounds like they're doing what's best for him which is great.
    via DarkHorseAsh111
  • 20
    RFL92 This is so sad. I'm a foster and I hope all of my adopters know that if they ever need it, those babies can come back for any period of time,
    via RFL92
  • 21
    RipBackground204 You're doing a good thing. Give him a quiet decompression room for a week or two, swap scents with blankets, and do slow, scent-first intros before any face time. I've seen adult littermates click again after years, more like "polite familiarity" at first, then
    via RipBackground204
  • 22
    real companionship once stress drops. Feliway, vertical space, and predictable routines help a ton. He may not "remember" like we do, but he can absolutely feel safe and at home with you again.
    via RipBackground204
  • 23
    Fudge Disastrous2280 We recently welcomed back our former foster after two years of adoption because of her adopter's lifestyle changes. Adjustment varies for each cat really, but in our case, it only took her two days to feel comfortable
    via FudgeDisastrous2280
  • 24
    here again. She's been playing and sleeping next to the cats she was close with before, and I'm not sure if it's because she remembers them or just that their personalities naturally matched ever since. Hope the reintroduction phase goes well for all of you!
    via FudgeDisastrous2280

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adoption kittenhood kitten animal rescue stress adopted feline cat rescue forever home Cats loving cute kittens animals fostering rescue
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